Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB756 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R4287 ATP-F
2	2	By: Stephenson H.B. No. 756
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to restrictions on the name of a general-purpose political
8	8	committee.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 252.0011(a), (b), and (c), Election
11	11	Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c), a person is
13	13	ineligible for appointment as a campaign treasurer if:
14	14	(1) the person is the campaign treasurer of a
15	15	political committee that does not file a report required by Chapter
16	16	254; or
17	17	(2) the campaign treasurer appointment of the person
18	18	was terminated under Section 252.0131(a) for violating Section
19	19	252.003(e).
20	20	(b) The period for which a person is ineligible under
21	21	Subsection (a)(1) [(a)] for appointment as a campaign treasurer
22	22	ends on the date on which the political committee in connection with
23	23	which the person's ineligibility arose has filed each report
24	24	required by Chapter 254 that was not timely filed or has paid all
25	25	fines and penalties in connection with the failure to file the
26	26	report. The period for which a person is ineligible under
27	27	Subsection (a)(2) for appointment as a campaign treasurer ends on
28	28	the fourth anniversary of the date the person's campaign treasurer
29	29	appointment was terminated under Section 252.0131(a) for violating
30	30	Section 252.003(e).
31	31	(c) A person is not ineligible for appointment as a campaign
32	32	treasurer under Subsection (a)(1) [(a) does not apply to a person]
33	33	if, in any semiannual reporting period prescribed by Chapter 254:
34	34	(1) the political committee in connection with which
35	35	the person's ineligibility arose did not accept political
36	36	contributions that in the aggregate exceed $5,000 or make political
37	37	expenditures that in the aggregate exceed $5,000; and
38	38	(2) the candidate who or political committee that
39	39	subsequently appoints the person does not accept political
40	40	contributions that in the aggregate exceed $5,000 or make political
41	41	expenditures that in the aggregate exceed $5,000.
42	42	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 252.003, Election Code,
43	43	is amended to read as follows:
44	44	Sec. 252.003. CONTENTS OF APPOINTMENT BY GENERAL-PURPOSE
45	45	COMMITTEE; COMMITTEE NAME.
46	46	SECTION 3. Section 252.003, Election Code, is amended by
47	47	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
48	48	(e) The name of a general-purpose committee may not contain
49	49	the name of a political party without providing on every
50	50	publication disseminated by the committee a disclaimer that the
51	51	committee is not affiliated in any way with the party in text not
52	52	smaller than half the size of the text in which the name of the
53	53	committee appears. The commission shall determine whether the name
54	54	of a general-purpose committee is in violation of this prohibition
55	55	and shall immediately notify the campaign treasurer of the
56	56	offending committee of that determination.
57	57	SECTION 4. Section 252.0131(a), Election Code, is amended
58	58	to read as follows:
59	59	(a) The commission by rule shall adopt a process by which
60	60	the commission may terminate the campaign treasurer appointment of
61	61	an inactive candidate or political committee that is required to
62	62	file a campaign treasurer appointment with the commission and by
63	63	which the commission shall terminate the campaign treasurer
64	64	appointment of a general-purpose committee that violates Section
65	65	252.003(e). The governing body of a political subdivision by
66	66	ordinance or order may adopt a process by which the clerk or
67	67	secretary, as applicable, of the political subdivision may
68	68	terminate the campaign treasurer appointment of an inactive
69	69	candidate or political committee that is required to file a
70	70	campaign treasurer appointment with the clerk or secretary. For
71	71	purposes of this section, a candidate or political committee is
72	72	inactive if the candidate or committee:
73	73	(1) has never filed or has ceased to file reports under
74	74	Chapter 254;
75	75	(2) in the case of a candidate, has not been elected to
76	76	an office for which a candidate is required to file a campaign
77	77	treasurer appointment with the authority who is seeking to
78	78	terminate the candidate's campaign treasurer appointment; and
79	79	(3) has not filed:
80	80	(A) a final report under Section 254.065 or
81	81	254.125; or
82	82	(B) a dissolution report under Section 254.126 or
83	83	254.159.
84	84	SECTION 5. Not later than January 1, 2018, the Texas Ethics
85	85	Commission shall determine whether the name of a general-purpose
86	86	political committee that filed a campaign treasurer appointment
87	87	before September 1, 2017, violates Section 252.003(e), Election
88	88	Code, as added by this Act, and shall notify the campaign treasurer
89	89	of the political committee of that determination.
90	90	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.